I am new to the game and have some rules questions related to combat and one random question.

1. During the combat steps, a player first proposes an attacker and a defender, and then players can play abilities. In this phase, I guess I could exhauste the proposed attacker before it attacks by playing an instant ability that exhaustes a character, right?

2. There is a character card in Crown of Heavens that lets me draw cards if I pay 2 and destroy the character. Can I do this after the character has dealt damage to an opposing character in combat?

3. There is a character card in Crown of Heavens that let me restore the character if it is the first combat with that character. How does this work in terms of the combat steps when the defending player has protectors (which I guess is the idea behind the ability). Its a triggered ability which would resolve after the "protection point"?

4. Can a player only have 1 pet in play? Or multiple pets with different names?

1) Yes, you may Exhaust the "proposed" attacker, thereby preventing the ally from attacking until it readies.

2) Yes, you can... BUT! the ally in question must be alive, as all damage from combatants is resolved simultaneously.If your ally takes fatal damage in the combat the ally dies before they can do anything else.

3) I don't know the card, and I presume you mean Ready when you say "restore". This card is allowing you to attack twice in one turn with the one ally. e.g.Attack one, enters combat, deals damage and survives, Readies,Attack two, deals damage ......

4)The limit of is indicated of the TYPE of cards. So when it says PET(1), It means "you can only have one pet"... this is the same for pieces of equipment and certain abilities.